It’s what we all do… regardless of our title, job role or where we’re placed in our business or organisation, the productivity and efficiency of the day-to-day business depends on everyone taking responsibility to ensure that everything they are tasked to do is done to the best of their ability and on time.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? And, of course there’s a lot more to it than this rather simplistic view.

So why is it then, if it’s such a simple concept, that we continually come across missed deadlines, uncompleted tasks, lack of clarity on priorities, ownership and timescales, etc, etc…..

But firstly, back to basics…

Let’s first consider the definition of “Task”. The most common themes are “a piece of work assigned or done as part of one’s duties” and “a piece of work to be done or undertaken”. In project management, a “Task” is “an activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time or by a deadline”.

“Task Management” is widely defined as “the process of managing tasks through its life cycle”; also “a formalised process for achieving an identified result”. I particularly like this one: “a cohesive, clear and visible approach to ensuring important activities are accomplished to achieve individual and team goals and objectives”.

You could probably come up with other variations. We may all have different phrasing and our own way of describing Tasks and Task Management, but I am sure you’ll agree that it’s all about the essence of all of the above.

All the more reason that we should take task management, in all its forms, seriously and adopt a “cohesive, clear and visible approach” to plan, prioritise, assign, perform and complete all tasks required to deliver our organisational objectives.

I have created a MindGenius map of what I see as being an overview of the key elements of Task Management.

Within a business environment, effective task management is very much dependent on a variety of dynamics and a mix of individual skills, knowledge, expertise; as well as, within a team or organisational context, clear and effective communication, collaboration, etc.

However, in terms of a process or model, key aspects may be, for example:

Plan – Create a task list, be clear on the specific objectives for each and visualise them (e.g. map) to aid clarity, focus and understanding

Categorise – For lists of multiple tasks it may be helpful and provide further focus if tasks are categorised or grouped (e.g. nature of task / activity)

Prioritise – For multiple tasks, it is invariably a case of “first things first”, so decisions have to be made on order, sequence and priority. Parameters such as complexity, importance, urgency, etc, may need to be considered

Ownership – for multiple tasks requiring contribution from more than one person, effective communication of the allocation and ownership of tasks is crucial

Timescales – linked in with ownership and responsibility for tasks is the agreement of timescales for each task – particularly crucial in the multiple task and potentially complex interactions required within projects

Perform / Execute – the stage of “doing it”. Requiring all tasks to start on time, keep momentum, adhere to urgency and deadline and be monitored and managed through to completion – as effectively and painlessly as possible! Within all of this having the ability and flexibility to adapt to any necessary change

Completion – ensuring all tasks are monitored and managed through to a completion – on time, on budget and fulfilling all the criteria and objectives outlined at the outset

MindGenius enables effective task management – each task identified, clarified, visualised, right through to the easy-to-use functionality that keeps all your tasks monitored and managed through to completion. From brainstorming individual or group tasks, mapping out action plans at meetings, through to mapping a project work breakdown structure, MindGenius effortlessly enables the process outlined above to become alive, visible, non-complicated and totally manageable.